Why did we not attempt a field goal at the end of the 4th quarter?
So it's the end of the 4th quarter and we have a fourth and 3. We are already up by 37, why did RR decide to go for it and not kick a field goal? Is this not the perfect opportunity to get someone out on the field and attempt a field goal with the game clearly out of reach? Or was RR going for "style" points? I mean they could really use the experience right? Any thoughts?
GO BLUE!
September 26th, 2010 at 11:07 PM ^
Our kicking game sucks.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:08 PM ^
I realize that but I thought it would be good practice.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:12 PM ^
I'm just saying I think Rich was pissed about the kicking game in the ND game because it was awful and there were some bad misses in the UMass game too.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:22 PM ^
I don't think that was it. We did the same thing against Delaware State last year. Kicking a field goal when you're up by a ton is considered poor form.
September 27th, 2010 at 5:49 AM ^
Exactly, just keep running with the football. It's their job to make the tackle.
September 27th, 2010 at 11:02 AM ^
So is practice. Let them practice kicking in practice.
Hell, let them practice kicking when they're not in practice too. But a game situation is no time for practice.
September 27th, 2010 at 11:17 AM ^
Coaches haven't yet found a way to replicate game conditions during practice.
September 27th, 2010 at 11:35 AM ^
The differences between kicking in practice and kicking in a game are purely psychological.
September 27th, 2010 at 4:30 PM ^
Kickers are uniquely susceptible to psychological factors.
September 27th, 2010 at 4:35 PM ^
Yet how bad would it have been had he missed? I don't think the the benefits of making what's essentially an extra point outweighs missing & crippling what little confidence happens to be there.
agree to disagree I guess
September 26th, 2010 at 11:05 PM ^
Going for the field goal would have been viewed as running up the score. Tougher to make the 4th down.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:12 PM ^
Really? I would not have thought that at all. Especially in this situation. I felt that we moved the ball fairly easily and yes I realize that it was 4th down. But it was the end of the game and it is a known fact that we have ZERO kicking game. It is like when we play the 3rd and 4th string in a game to get game time experience, it should be the same with our kicking game. That is my thinking.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:15 PM ^
Conventional wisdom is frequently stupid. But that is the conventional wisdom.
September 27th, 2010 at 12:39 AM ^
I agree - making a field goal for this team is tougher.
September 27th, 2010 at 7:00 AM ^
My thought exactly...plus one for you.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:09 PM ^
Because the field goal is consider a "get the points" move, while going for it gives them another chance to stop us. It was a show of sportsmanship.
September 27th, 2010 at 12:45 AM ^
The "not running up the score" move is to put in all the 2nd and 3rd stringers and run a base offense. If it so happens that we still score with that in place, them's the breaks.
I see what the original poster is saying about getting the kickers some experience, but at that point it was little more than an extra point anyway, of which there were plenty on Saturday.
September 27th, 2010 at 7:31 AM ^
The "not running up the score" move is to put in all the 2nd and 3rd stringers and run a base offense.
Players in at that point were DG, Teric Jones, Backup Linemen. I'm not sure what else we could've done.
September 27th, 2010 at 9:20 AM ^
Senator, Devin Gardner is no Jack Kennedy.
But yeah, running a basic running play on 4th down is considered the sportsmanlike move, as people are saying.
September 27th, 2010 at 11:10 AM ^
That's what I'm saying. I'm arguing that what we did was appropriate in that situation.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:09 PM ^
Yeah I've never seen a coach kick a feild goal in this spot. I guess it's viewed as running up the score.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:10 PM ^
We gave their D a chance to stop us instead of tacking on three points.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:20 PM ^
By going for it on fourth it allowed RR to kill more time. Coaches do it more often than we think. Plus it gives young guys offensive reps in fourth down scenerios. Just don't read too much into it.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:24 PM ^
I don't think time was a consideration. The clock stops on a change of possession. Going for it there is simply the normal thing to do.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:20 PM ^
Kicking a field goal for more points could also be seen as running up the score. Coach Rod didn't go for the 4th down to get a touchdown, he did it to give the backups more game experience. I didn't think it was a big deal watching the game.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:20 PM ^
I think it is pretty simple- with Devin in there, they wanted to give him some more experience. Who knows how many opportunities Rich Rod will get to put Devin in a 4th and goal situation? This is about giving the backups some real-time experience in faux-pressure situations.
I don't think it had much to do with the field goal kicking- they werent really concerned about points one way or another at that point.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:41 PM ^
Get a TD... extra point from the same distance = effectively kick a field goal TOO.
September 27th, 2010 at 9:18 AM ^
Plus, agree with the other posters that point out they field goal would be gimme points and therefore for 'running up the score' than going for 4th and 5 with your 2/3 QB and backups everywhere else.
September 26th, 2010 at 11:53 PM ^
Kicking a FG, especially from that close, is viewed as running up the score, because it's basically a guaranteed 3 points to pad your already large lead. Going for it at least gives the opponent an honest chance to stop your offense, and gives your backups a game rep in a "crucial"-type situation (4th & short).
September 27th, 2010 at 12:46 AM ^
As everyone has mentioned it does give the opposing team a chance to stop you where as the kick would be purposefully trying to get points. I would much rather see this than running a trick play with your 1st teamers in the 3rd quarter during a blowout (please see Pryor's receiving TD during EMU). That Mr. Tressel is something we like to call a "dick move."
September 27th, 2010 at 8:14 AM ^
September 27th, 2010 at 8:27 AM ^
becuase if you kick a field goal close to the end zone when you are killing the other team at the end of the game, it looks like you are taking the sure points rather than running the risk of not scoring. This in turn makes it look like you are trying to run up the score and rub it in more.
September 27th, 2010 at 9:18 AM ^
There's a pretty lively discussion going on about this over on the "Running up the score" post.
September 27th, 2010 at 10:07 AM ^
Its a lose - lose situation. If you go for it and score a TD you're running up the score. If you kick the FG you're running up the score. I would have liked our kickers to get in some work prior to the start of the B10 season. RRod clearly isn't going to win a popularity contest with many of our die hards. I would have kicked the FG and let the chips fall where they may...
September 27th, 2010 at 10:27 AM ^
that's why.
As long as he's coach Micigan won't be "trying" to defeat teams by the smallest point margins imaginable.
We should be happy that somebody is actually giving the rest of our depth chart some playing time for a change.
September 27th, 2010 at 10:53 AM ^
Actually Lloyd Carr's Michigan teams frequently found themselves in the same situation and they always went for it rather than kicking. It's just one of the unwritten rules of being on the good side of a blowout: don't kick a gimme field goal. It has nothing to do with who the coach is.
September 27th, 2010 at 10:50 AM ^
so....we're saying dont kick the fg which is all but a gimme 3 pts and try for the 4th down conversion which gives the other team a legit chance to stop us from scoring and It also gives your reserves the chance to play in a game environment and IF you score a TD the resulting PAT is about the same as kicking the fg so that accounts for any sort of "practice"? ok, good. So RR did the right thing. I guess this never dawned on me until I read this thread...
September 27th, 2010 at 11:10 AM ^
I'd prefer a shot of Jack fwiw. i know its early but they drink all the time on Mad Men!! lol!
September 27th, 2010 at 11:28 AM ^
Kickers are screwy. There would be great value in giving (one of) them the confidence that come from kicking a FG in a real game. When considering a kicker's state of mind, a PAT might not be the same thing as a FG, even if the ball is on the exact same spot.
September 27th, 2010 at 11:36 AM ^
I think given how awful the kicking game is this season it's more important for the team to practice converting 4th downs rather than the kickers to practice converting field goals. Reasonable people can disagree on this, but I don't have a problem giving the offense more practice on 4th downs. They're going to need to get used to that.
September 27th, 2010 at 11:46 AM ^
I think that in this specific case, the Bowling Green coach would have understood why we were kicking a field goal versus going for it, based on how bad our kicking game has been. I don't think it would have been a dick move for us to kick there. I am pretty sure everyone here basically would have traded one of our TDs Saturday for a 45 yard field goal if we could have, just so we could feel better about having to line up one of our kickers for an important kick somewhere down the line.
That being said, maybe a 25-30 yard field goal against Bowling Green when we're already up 37 points wouldn't have done anything for the confidence of Broekhuizen? I hope we can get something figured out..
September 27th, 2010 at 4:59 PM ^
i think he just wanted to let devin try for another td. gotta reward the guy whos been working since january ;)